Category: Re-entry

This past year, a select group of county child welfare managers from around the state of California convened at U.C. Davis to participate in a five-part CQI practicum focused on reentry to foster care. The purpose of this cohort-based, long term seminar was to support county leaders in using evidence to build and execute CQI plans aimed at reducing reentry.... Read more >

Did you know that you can use the FCDA webtool to make observations about the rate of reentry to foster care and how it varies throughout your state? Our latest Webtool Recipe explains how to use the FCDA webtool and Excel Pivot Tables to answer key questions about the likelihood of reentering foster care. ... Read more >

In this session, Data Center Director Fred Wulczyn provided a high-level overview of the proposed CFSR 3 measures, discussed the methods for setting national standards, baselines, and targets, and highlighted issues for states to consider as they prepare comments to the Children’s Bureau. Read a recap, view the webinar, and download the slides.... Read more >

In the previous Recipe, we found that children entering foster care for the first time stayed in care longer than children who re-entered care after a previous spell. Why might that be? This Recipe shows you how to explore demographic and case-related differences between the comparison groups in your length of stay analysis to help you get closer to the answer. Question: In my length of stay analysis, I found that first-time entrants stayed in care longer than re-entrants. Are there differences between these two groups that might account for that? Follow the steps for the length of stay analysis in the previous Recipe. In the upper right hand corner of the output page, click the button labeled Go to Demographic Comparison. On the next screen you’ll see a summary of your comparison groups. Under Report Options, select the variables that you’re interested in. To get a sense of… Read more >

As you know, different populations of children don’t always experience foster care in the same way. That’s why it’s so important to stratify your population—to take a measure of the whole group, and then break the results down by those child- and case-related characteristics that might make a difference in the outcome. One of those characteristics is admission type—whether the spell in question is the child’s first spell in foster care, or whether that spell is a re-entry after a prior discharge. Springboarding off my earlier post on length of stay, this Recipe will show you how to break length of stay results down by admission type in order to see whether children entering care for the first time have similar lengths of stay as children returning to care. Question: Do children entering foster care for the first time stay in care as long as children re-entering care? On… Read more >